²¹Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, oyou should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this oinjury and loss. ²²Yet now I urge you to ptake heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. ²³For this very night qthere rstood before me san angel of the God tto whom I belong and uwhom I worship, ²⁴and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; vyou must stand before Caesar. And behold, wGod has granted you all those who sail with you.’ ²⁵So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. ²⁶But xwe must yrun aground on some island.”

²⁷When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. ²⁸So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms.4 A little farther on they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms.5 ²⁹And fearing that we might zrun on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. ³⁰And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered athe ship's boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, ³¹Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” ³²Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat and let it go.

³³As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. ³⁴Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength,6 for bnot a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.” ³⁵And when he had said these things, he took bread, and cgiving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat. ³⁶Then they all dwere encouraged and ate some food themselves. ³⁷(We were in all 2767 epersons in the ship.) ³⁸And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, fthrowing out the wheat into the sea.

The Shipwreck

³⁹Now when it was day, gthey did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned if possible to run the ship ashore. ⁴⁰So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders. Then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach. ⁴¹But striking a reef,8 hthey ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf. ⁴²iThe soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. ⁴³But the centurion, jwishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, ⁴⁴and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that kall were brought safely to land.

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